The Last Song on the Album # 1 Van Morrison - Astral Weeks - Slim Slow Slider

'You're out of reach.'

 

Writing and choosing the last track on a record is a minor art form. Many of them sound like they were specifically written to occupy that place. Most of the good ones are about closure of some sort. Death of course too. This one spells it out clearly in its lyrics. Van was 22 when he wrote this. I've sometimes thought it slightly anti-climactic given what's come before it on this extraordinary record. Then you listen to it closely and you realise it's not. More about the quite incomparable Astral Weeks later on this week after it's the first selection of the new series of Record Player.